U.S. patent number 4,957,464 [Application Number 07/331,190] was granted by the patent office on 1990-09-18 for doll with means for producing soap bubbles.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Jesmar S. A.. Invention is credited to Jose L. J. Perez.
United States Patent |
4,957,464 |
Perez |
* September 18, 1990 |
Doll with means for producing soap bubbles
Abstract
A doll is provided capable of blowing bubbles. The doll has a
receptacle for holding bubble making liquid attached to the doll's
trunk. A bubble making tool having a ring-shaped end is attached to
a moveable arm of the doll. The arm is able to pivot about the
trunk so that the tool may be dipped in the liquid and raised up to
a mouth opening formed in the doll. An air impeller is located in
the doll's head and forces air out of the doll's mouth when a
circuit is closed by the motion of the arm in bringing the tool
close to the mouth opening. Bubbles are produced when the air flows
through the ring-shaped end of the tool coated with a liquid
film.
Inventors: |
Perez; Jose L. J. (Biar
Alicante, ES) |
Assignee: |
Jesmar S. A. (Otra. de Alcoy,
ES)
|
[*] Notice: |
The portion of the term of this patent
subsequent to June 20, 2006 has been disclaimed. |
Family
ID: |
27240676 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/331,190 |
Filed: |
March 31, 1989 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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63423 |
Jun 17, 1987 |
4840597 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
446/16;
446/15 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63H
3/24 (20130101); A63H 33/28 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A63H
3/00 (20060101); A63H 3/24 (20060101); A63H
33/28 (20060101); A63H 033/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;496/15,16,17,18,19,20,21,72,178,267,268,330,354,384 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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890155 |
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Sep 1953 |
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DE |
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2802956 |
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Aug 1978 |
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DE |
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2380045 |
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Oct 1978 |
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FR |
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Primary Examiner: Hafer; Robert A.
Assistant Examiner: Rimell; Sam
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Staas & Halsey
Parent Case Text
This is a continuation of co-pending application Ser. No. 063,423
filed on June 17, 1987 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,597.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A bubble producing doll, comprising:
(a) a doll body simulating a human figure with a trunk portion, a
head connected to the trunk portion and having a mouth opening, a
pair of arms having hand extremities with one arm pivotally mounted
to the upper end of the trunk portion for up and down movement in
relationship to the upper end of the trunk portion and a pair of
legs connected to the lower end to the trunk portion;
(b) a receptacle connected to the front section of the trunk
portion for storing bubble making liquid;
(c) air producing means connected to the mouth opening formed in
said head through which air is impelled;
(d) a battery-operated electrical circuit located inside the trunk
portion for activating the air producing means;
(e) switching means connected to the electrical circuit for closing
and opening the circuit and having a switching element located on
the pivotally mounted arm; and
(f) a bubble-making liquid, pick-up took, separate from the hand
extremities of the arms, and having a first handle portion
connected at one end to the hand extremity of the pivotally mounted
arm and a second ring-like portion extending from the other end of
the tool handle portion for holding a film of the bubble making
liquid;
wherein the mouth opening in said head and the receptacle on the
front section of the trunk portion are arranged along a
circumferential arc centered at a point where said arm is pivotally
mounted on the trunk, the arc having a radius equal to the distance
between said point and the second portion of said tool, and
wherein after the tool is placed in the receptacle and a film of
liquid is formed thereon and when the pivotally mounted arm having
the tool is raised to a position near the mouth opening of the doll
head through the arc, the switching element on the arm closes the
electrical circuit activating the air producing means to produce
and simulate a human figure blowing bubbles produced from the film
on the tool.
2. A doll according to claim 1, wherein the air producing means
includes:
a cylindrical casing in which there is tangentially shaped an
outlet nozzle for a generated stream of air as well as air
aspiration grooves in a base of said casing, wherein said outlet
nozzle is functionally connected with the mouth opening of said
head portion;
a rotor having transverse vanes, and
a motor connected to the rotor which is mounted within the
cylindrical casing; and
a battery connected to the motor and the switching means for
activating the motor when the hand extremity of the pivotally
mounted arm approaches the mouth opening of the doll head.
3. A doll according to claim 1, wherein the receptacle has a first
portion for containing said liquid when said receptacle is in an
upright position and a second upper inner portion having a
concavity within which said liquid remains contained when the
receptacle is moved from the upright position.
4. A doll according to claim 1, wherein the second ring-like
portion of the tool has a plurality of projections on the inner
periphery thereof and a plurality of indentations on the outer
periphery thereof for facilitating the film of bubble making
liquid.
5. The doll of claim 1, wherein the pivotally mounted arm is moved
manually by the user of the doll.
6. The doll of claim 1, further comprising means for moving the
pivotally mounted arm, the arm moving means having a battery power
source, gear means operatively connected between the power source
and the pivotally mounted arm; and electrical circuit for
energizing the power source; and push button means for selectively
closing the eletrical circuit and energizing the power source.
7. The doll of claim 1, wherein the receptacle is detachably
connected to the front section of the trunk portion and wherein the
bubble-making liquid, pick-up tool is detachably connected to the
one end of the hand extremity of the pivotally mounted arm.
8. The doll of claim 4, wherein the separate receptacle has a
cup-like configuration and is detachably connected tot he center of
the front section of the trunk portion with the pivotally mounted
arm located transverse to and movable up and down to the side of
the receptacle, and wherein the separate tool is detachably
connected to the pivotally mounted arm and is positioned to extend
transverse from the hand extremity of the pivotally mounted arm
toward the receptacle located in the center of the front section of
the trunk portion.
9. The doll of claim 8, wherein the handle portion of the tool has
an arced section near the tool ring-like portion for extending over
the rim of the cup-like receptacle such that, when the pivotally
mounted arm is moved downwardly for the ring-like portion of the
tool to be inserted into the receptacle, the tool ring-like portion
extends substantially flat toward the bottom of the receptacle.
10. The doll of claim 9, wherein the hand extremity of the
pivotally mounted arm is located transverse to the side of the
receptacle at substantially the level o for below the top of the
receptacle when the ring-like portion of the tool is positioned
inside the receptacle for receiving the bubble-making liquid.
11. The doll of claim 5, further comprising means for moving the
pivotally mounted arm, the arm moving means having a battery power
source, gear means operatively connected between the power source
and the pivotally mounted arm; and electrical circuit for
energizing the power source; and push button means for selectively
closing the electrical circuit and energizing the power source.
12. A bubble producing doll, comprising:
(a) a doll body simulating a human figure with a trunk portion, a
head connected to the trunk portion and having a mouth opening, a
pair of arms having hand extremities with one arm pivotally mounted
to the upper end of the trunk portion for up and down movement in
relationship to the upper end of the trunk portion and a pair of
legs connected to the lower end to the trunk portion;
(b) a separate receptacle of a cup-like configuration to the center
of the front section of the trunk portion for storing bubble making
liquid;
(c) air producing means connected to the mouth opening formed in
said head through which air is impelled;
(d) a battery-operated electrical circuit located inside the trunk
portion for activating the air producing means;
(e) switching means connected to the electrical circuit for closing
and opening the circuit and having a switching element located on
the pivotally mounted arm; and
(f) a bubble-making liquid, pick-up tool, separate from the hand
extremities of the arms, and having a first handle portion
detachably connected at one end to the hand extremity of the
pivotally mounted arm and a second ring-like portion extending from
the other end of the tool handle portion for holding a film of the
bubble making handle,
wherein the tool extends transverse from the hand extremity of the
pivotally mounted arm toward the receptacle located in the center
of the front section of the trunk portion,
wherein the mouth opening in said head and the receptacle on the
front section of the trunk portion are arranged along a
circumferential arc centered at a point where said arm is pivotally
mounted on the trunk, the arc having a radius equal to the distance
between said point and the second portion of said took, and
wherein after the tool is placed in the receptacle and a film of
liquid is formed thereon and when the pivotally mounted arm having
the tool is raised to a position near the mouth opening of the doll
head through the arc, the switching element on the arm closes the
electrical circuit activating the air producing means to produce
and simulate a human figure blowing bubbles produced from the film
on the tool.
13. The doll of claim 12, wherein the handle portion of the tool
has an arced section near the tool ring-like portion for extending
over the rim of the cup-like receptacle such that, when the
pivotally mounted arm is moved downwardly for the ring-like portion
of the tool to be inserted into the receptacle, the tool ring-like
portion extends substantially flat toward the bottom of the
receptacle;
wherein the hand extremity of the pivotally mounted arm is located
transverse to the side of the receptacle at substantially the level
of or below the top of the receptacle when the ring-like portion of
the tool is positioned inside the receptacle for receiving the
bubble-making liquid; and
wherein the receptacle has a first portion for containing said
liquid when said receptacle is in an upright position and a second
upper portion having a concavity within which said liquid remains
contained when the receptacle is moved from the upright
position.
14. The doll of claim 12, wherein the pivotally mounted arm is
moved manually by the user of the doll.
15. The doll of claim 14, further comprising means for moving the
pivotally mounted arm, the arm moving means having a battery power
source, gear means operatively connected between the power source
and the pivotally mounted arm; and electrical circuit for
energizing the power source; and push bottom means selectively
controlled by the user of the doll for closing the electrical
circuit and energizing the power source.
16. A bubble producing doll, comprising:
(a) a doll body simulating a human figure with a trunk portion, a
head connected to the trunk portion and having a mouth opening, a
pair of arms having hand extremities with one arm pivotally mounted
to the upper end of the trunk portion and a pair of legs connected
to the lower end to the trunk portion;
(b) a receptacle connected to the front section of the trunk
portion for storing bubble making liquid;
(c) air producing means connected to the mouth opening formed in
said head through which air is impelled;
(d) a batter-operated electrical circuit located inside the trunk
portion for activating the air producing means;
(e) switching means connected to the electrical circuit for closing
and opening the circuit and having a switching element located on
the pivotally mounted arm; and
(f) a bubble-making liquid, pick-up tool having a first portion
connected to the hand extremity of the pivotally mounted arm and a
second portion for holding a film of the bubble making liquid;
and
(g) means for moving the pivotally mounted arm, the arm moving
means having a battery power source, gear means operatively
connected between the power source and the pivotally mounted arm,
an electrical circuit for energizing the power source, and push
button means for closing the electrical circuit and energizing the
power source,
wherein the mouth opening in said head and the receptacle on the
front section of the trunk portion are arranged along a
circumferential arc centered at a point where said arm is pivotally
mounted on the trunk, the arc having a radius equal to the distance
between said point and the second portion of said tool; and
wherein after the tool is placed in the receptacle and a film of
liquid is formed thereon and when the pivotally mounted arm having
the tool is raised to a position near the mouth opening of the doll
head through the arc, the switching element on the arm closes the
electrical circuit activating the air producing means to produce
and simulate a human figure blowing bubbles produced from the film
on the tool.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a doll having elements for
producing soap bubbles, and more particularly to a doll which can
be used by young children safely and with minimal risk of spilling
the bubble-making liquid while keeping user interest high.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many types of bubble blowing toys and devices have been developed
for children. Children have a fascination with the creation of
bubbles out of liquid. Examples of bubble blowing toys directed to
children are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,733,478 (bubble blowing
elephant); 2,842,894 (bubble blowing toy figure); 3,228,136
(electrical bubble blowing toy); 3,388,498 (bubble making toy
figure); and 4,556,392 (bubbling self-propelled toy). For the most
part, these devices are one dimensional, in that the only function
they serve is that of a bubble blowing apparatus. Further, many of
the devices are too complicated for younger children, thereby
requiring adult supervision or assistance. Due to these
restrictions, it is often difficult for bubble blowing devices to
hold the interest of younger users.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an objective of this invention is to provide a doll
capable of blowing bubbles.
Another object of this invention is to provide a bubble blowing
device which has an independent use as a doll.
A further object of this invention is to provide a doll having
elements for producing bubbles which is easily manufactured at a
low cost.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set
forth in part of the description that follows and in part, will be
obvious from the description or may be learned by practice of the
invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be
realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and
combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
To achieve the foregoing objects and in accordance with the purpose
of the present invention, the doll includes: a toy body of human
configuration having a trunk portion bearing a receptacle for
containing a mixture of water and soap necessary for the production
of the bubbles, as well as a head portion within which there is
housed an electronically actuated air impeller device which is
functionally connected to a mouth opening present in said head
portion; upper extremities or arms, at least one of which is
pivotally mounted on said trunk portion and, operatively connected
to a switch element for controlling the electric circuit for the
actuation of said air impeller device; a tool for forming the
bubbles, having a handle portion for attachment to the movable arm
or arms and a ring-shaped portion for forming the actual bubbles.
Furthermore, the mouth opening of the aforesaid head portion and
the trunk portion on which the receptacle for the soapy solution is
arranged are disposed along a circumferential arc which has its
center at the point of articulation between the arm and trunk and a
radius corresponding to the effective length of the arm and tool
for the production of bubbles. In this way, by manually moving said
pivoted arm it is possible to introduce the bubble-producing tool
into the corresponding receptacle and then position the tool, in
front of the mouth opening of said head portion. Air is then
impelled from the mouth toward the tool, whereby a bubble is
made.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating the doll of the present
invention;
FIG. 2 is a side view showing the pivotal motion of the arms of the
doll;
FIG. 3 is a side view, partially in section, of the doll of the
present invention, in which the arrow A shows the movement effected
by the pivoted arm thereof;
FIGS. 4A and 4B are views illustrating the tool for producing the
bubbles;
FIG. 5 is a side view illustrating the receptacle which contains
the soapy solution;
FIG. 6 is a side, cross-sectional view of the air impeller
device;
FIG. 7 is a top, partial cross-sectional view of the air impeller
device, and
FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate an alternative embodiment in which the arm
movement is motor driven.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The structure of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1
and 2. A doll 1 is formed of a body having a head portion 2, a
trunk portion 3, a lower limbs portion 22 (legs and feet), and a
pair of arms 4, at least one of which is articulated, e.g.,
swinging on the aforementioned trunk portion 3, as is illustrated
in FIG. 2. Attached to the trunk portion 3 is a receptacle 15 for
holding bubble making liquid. Attached to the pivoting arm 4 is a
hand 21 which holds a tool 16 which can be dipped in the bubble
making liquid contained in the receptacle 15 and then moved
directly opposite an opening 5, which imitates a mouth, in the head
portion 2 so that bubbles can be formed utilizing air forced
through the opening 5, as discussed in detail below. At least the
arm 4 holding the tool 16 is pivotally mounted. The second arm may
also be pivotally mounted on a single axis through the trunk
portion 3 so that the arms 4 ascend and descend together.
The bubble making elements can be seen more easily in FIGS. 3, 6
and 7. An air impeller device 6, which will be described in greater
detail below, has an outlet nozzle 7 which is coupled to said mouth
opening 5 in such a manner that the stream of air generated thereby
will emerge through the mouth opening 5 via the nozzle 7.
The air impeller device 6 consists of an electric motor 8 which is
powered by a battery 23, the live terminal of which is connected to
motor 8. The motor is operatively connected to a rotor 9 having a
plurality of transverse vanes 10 which is fitted in the interior of
a cylindrical body 11 in which said outlet nozzle 7 is tangentially
conformed. In addition, in said cylindrical body 11 there are
formed a plurality of holes 12 which serve as suction intakes of
the device 6.
Referring still to FIG. 3, the arm 4 which is articulated on the
trunk portion 3 has, in a region within said trunk portion 3 a stem
or lug 13 which is operatively connected to a switch 14, for
instance a blade switch 14, arranged in a feed circuit of the motor
8 of the air impeller device 6. The arrangement of the stem or lug
13 is such that in a position of rest of the doll 1, the switch 14
is in its open position, while in an active position of the doll,
that is to say with the arm raised upward by the manual action of
the user or mechanical action, the stem or lug 13 effects the
closing of the switch 14 with the consequent production of a stream
of air by the impeller device 6 through the opening 5.
Referring now to FIG. 5, the receptacle 15 is formed of inner upper
and outer portions, 15' and 15", respectively. The inner upper
portion 15' has a downward directed concavity of a volumetric
capacity approximately equal to that of the portion 15" so that
even in the event that the receptacle 15 is tipped sideways or
turned upside down, no loss of the liquid contained therein would
take place since it would remain contained within the said
concavity of the upper portion 15' As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B the
tool 16 for the forming of the bubbles is formed of a handle
portion 16' for attachment to the hand 21 of the arm 4 and a
ring-shaped portion 16" for picking up and holding a film of bubble
making liquid for the forming of the bubbles. The ring-shaped
portion 16" is provided on its inner periphery with a plurality of
projections 17, whereas the outer periphery includes a plurality of
indentations 18, both of which contribute to facilitating the
formation of the film of bubble making liquid which is necessary
for the forming of the bubbles.
The fastening of the receptacle 15 to the corresponding region of
the trunk portion 3 can be effected in a variety of different ways.
For instance, as shown in FIG. 3, a protruding portion 19 may
extend from the trunk portion 3 on which the handle 20 of the said
receptacle 15 can be engaged. The handle 20 may be removable from
the protruding portion 19 or may be permanently attached to
protruding portion 19 during manufacture.
As will be easily understood by those skilled in this art, for the
proper operation of the doll, it is necessary said receptacle 15
and said mouth opening 5 be arranged in a circumferential arc. More
particularly, the bubble-forming tool 16, in order to ascend and
descend as indicated by the arrow A in FIGS. 2 and 3 must be
alternately brought opposite the mouth opening 5 and then
introduced at the ring-shaped portion 16" into the inside of the
receptacle 15 which contains the bubble making liquid, by the
movable arm 4. The center of the circumferential arc is at the
point of rotation of the arm 4 on the body and the radius of the
arc is equal to the distance between said point and the ring-shaped
portion 16 of the bubble-forming tool 16.
In this way, by the manual or mechanical actuation of the descent
and ascent of the arm 4, the tool 16 becomes wetted with the bubble
making liquid contained in the receptacle 15, with the consequent
formation of a soapy film in the ring-shaped portion 16". The
ring-shaped portion 16" is then brought opposite the opening 5 of
the head 2. A stream of air is then generated by the impeller
device 6, and the desired bubble or bubbles are produced. As
previously mentioned, the position of the stem or lug 13 of the arm
4 only acts on the switch 14 so as to cause the closing thereof to
activate the impeller device 6, when said tool 16 has reached the
vicinity of the opening 5.
In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the arm 4 holding the
bubble-forming tool 16 is manually moved from the receptacle 15 to
the opening 5. This allows for the manufacture of a simple and low
cost embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrates
an alternate embodiment according to the present invention, whereby
an electrically-driven mechanical device is introduced into the
doll, for automatically moving the arm 4 to move the tool 16 from
the receptacle 15 to the opening 5 and back again. This mechanical
motion can be carried out by pushing a button 25 situated on the
doll 1 above a battery compartment door 29 which closes a circuit
thereby energizing a motor 26 which in turn activates a gear train
27 operatively connected between the motor 26 and the arm 4
portion, which causes the arm 4 and connected tool 16 to ascend and
descend. The gear train 27 and motor 26 required for causing the
ascending and descending motion of the arm 4 are well known to
those in the art, and therefore, will not be further described
herein. The rest of the structure of the doll is the same as is
contained in the first embodiment. That is, when the arm 4 has
ascended to a position such that the tool 16 is close to the
opening 5, a circuit is closed by the contact of the stem or lug 13
and the blade switch 14, causing the air impeller device 6 to
generate a stream of air through the opening 5 and the ring-shaped
portion 16" of the tool 16, thereby producing bubbles.
A wide variety of embodiments are foreseeable from the basic
embodiments that have been described above. The device can be noise
actuated, such that a particular voice or noise command such as the
clapping of hands can cause the ascending motion of the arm 3 and
accompanying tool 16 to the opening 5 which would cause the air
impeller 6 to generate air through the ring-shaped portion 16" of
the tool 16, thereby producing bubbles.
As described above, the present invention has an added dimension in
that it serves a dual purpose. Not only can the device be used for
making bubbles, upon the removal of the receptacle 15 and tool 16,
the device also serves as an ordinary doll for the user. The
idolation of baby dolls by young children is of course well known.
This also distinguishes the present invention from the above
described single dimensional bubble blowing apparatuses.
The foregoing is considered illustrative only of the principles of
the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes
will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired
to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation
shown and described. Accordingly, all suitable modifications and
equivalents may be resorted to that fall within the scope of the
invention and the appended claims.
* * * * *